Cheshire and Warrington LEP secures £1.2m for skills bootcamps to help hundreds fast track into jobs
100s of people will be able to sign up to Skills Bootcamps
Hundreds more people will be able to sign up to Skills Bootcamps to help fast track them into jobs after Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership secured £1.2m government funding.
Skills Bootcamps offer flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to a guaranteed interview (or equivalent) with a local employer.
The Skills Bootcamps are free for all unemployed or self-employed people. For anyone in a job a small contribution from the employer will be required.
Fifteen Skills Bootcamps embracing digital, technical, logistics and green sectors are already up and running across Cheshire and Warrington.
The specialist Skills Bootcamps cover a wide range of specialisms with courses ranging from the food industry and food hygiene to overhead line electrification in the railway industry - as well as crucial support around employability skills such as CV writing and interview techniques.
Now after being awarded £1.2m by the Department for Education (DfE), Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership is again inviting employers and training providers to apply to run Skills Bootcamps. The Wave 4 Cheshire & Warrington open application process is now live and training providers and employers can apply now to deliver Skills Bootcamps.
The new funding, part of the DfE’s Wave 4 programme, which runs from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 intends to train over 350 people across Cheshire and Warrington, who might be looking to improve their skillsets and gain employment, or access new roles and opportunities with their current employer.
The courses offer higher level technical skills of level 3-5 in covering Digital, Technical/Construction and the Green sectors but part of funding will allow a new subject matter to be piloted.
It is hoped that even more training can be delivered in the future, with access to further funding rounds.
Clare Hayward MBE, Cheshire and Warrington LEP chair, said: “This programme is important to helping us ensure that our employers have the skilled workforce they need to thrive and grow.
“We’re committed to creating the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK here in Cheshire and Warrington and filling skills gaps, such as in green tech or digital, both of which are crucial to making this happen.
“We hope that this builds on our strong start to date on our Skills Bootcamp programme and that we continue to deliver Skills Bootcamps over the coming years, as we continue to identify the skills that local businesses need to really help boost and drive our economy.”
The Skills Bootcamps are available for adults aged 19 and over, who either live or work in Cheshire and Warrington, and who have the right to work in the UK, and therefore can be employed, self-employed or unemployed.
Training is available for employees in the public, private and voluntary sector.
Employers will be at the heart of the Skills Bootcamps, and their role can be highly varied and may involve recruitment onto the courses, delivery of training and offering interviews for vacancies.
The Skills Bootcamps are designed to help employers invest in people to create and retain talent for the future.
To find out more, whether you are interested as a potential training provider, as an employer or as an individual, go to Skills Bootcamps - Cheshire and Warrington